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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Hardwiring arena lights
Matt Strasen, Photographer
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Stillwater | OK | USA | Posted: 2:56 PM on 02.05.05 |
->> I am looking to hardwire all of my White Lightning arena lights together early next week. I think I have all the hardware I need, the wire itself and the connectors and plugs. My question is, how do I do it? I want change my lights from each being triggered by their own PW, to all of them being controlled by one PW.
Thanks in advance |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Maryville | MO | USA | Posted: 4:09 PM on 02.05.05 |
->> In summary...
Your main synch wire should be u-shaped as it lays out in the catwalk. Your drop line or the PW trigger should tap a the center of the U and not at one end of the wire. It's more reliable this way. Make jumpers of stereo jacks, zip line and a male tap for each light. Then at each light, put a female adatap on your u-shaped synch cord at each position. Plug in your first light, then your second. If light 2 causes light 1 to trip, then flip your male plug because you have a polarity issue. Anytime you plug in additional lights and the others trip, you'll need to flip the male plug to get the polarity correct. Your PW may cause them to trip when you plug it in, but that usually doesn't indicate there's a problem. |
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Shawn Cullen, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 6:50 PM on 02.05.05 |
->> Matt,
Be careful of the brand of wire you buy. The reason is some brands have a thicker insulation around the wire making it difficult to put it inside the male plug, and closing the female tap over the wire. Home Depot and Lowes, as well as Roberts, sell Carol Cable which is what I recommend. I am sure you can find other brands that will work, but do not buy any that comes in metal spools!
Hope this helps. |
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Matt Strasen, Photographer
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Stillwater | OK | USA | Posted: 10:38 PM on 02.05.05 |
->> Shawn,
The wire and some of the basic hardware was actually left for me by a magazine that came to Stillwater earlier this year, and he said he could not ship used wire back to the office. My main problem is that I am very new to wiring anything, as I just made my first triggers for remotes the other day, and I'm not even sure where to begin.
Thanks |
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Michael T Myers, Photographer
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 3:27 AM on 02.06.05 |
| ->> The brown lamp cord that Roberts sells is best. Black and white colors seem a little thicker and the add-a-taps dont connect as well. Carol cable is what Bob Rosato taught me to use. |
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Michael Stevens, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 2:31 PM on 02.07.05 |
->> Do they have to be STEREO jacks? I just bought some to hard wire my lights and I didn't think they had to be stereo so I bought mono plugs.
Mike |
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Shawn Cullen, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 1:18 AM on 02.08.05 |
->> Michael,
The sync cords for sale on the White lightning web site are stereo, so yes they should be stereo. |
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Shawn Cullen, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 11:10 AM on 02.08.05 |
->> Michael,
I looked into it some more and I do not think you have to use stereo plugs. I thought it was wierd that Profotos and speedo's do not use the stereo so I called Pocket Wizard and they said that you can use both. So keep those mono plugs! |
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Vern Verna, Photographer
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Taylors (Greenville) | SC | United States | Posted: 11:55 AM on 02.08.05 |
->> just make sure u hook the wire to the right jack of the stereo. it might not work hook to one but will to the other. i use a mono just to avoid this problem.
Matt call me (num on my page) or email me if u need some help. sorry i havent had time to answer on the thread till now as i was a little busy shooting a fb game on sunday lol. |
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Clint Keller, Photographer
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Fort Wayne | In | USA | Posted: 12:58 PM on 02.08.05 |
| ->> Help me out. I still don't understand where the PW plugs in. Do you just have a jumper from the PW to anywhere on the synch wire or does the PW plug into one light. As I understand it, the cord runs in a U shape around the catwalk with an adatap and cord connecting to each light. Do the ends of synch cord lay dead, connected to nothing, or do you connect the PW to the end? I thought you had to fire one light to send a voltage down the line to fire the others (hence the need for LV adaptors), so you would need the PW to plug into one light, I thought. But in all of the posts I've seen on this topic, nobody seems to address this issue. They just explain how to plug in the lights. Or I'm a moron and can't read. |
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Brian Westerholt, Photographer
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Kannapolis | NC | USA | Posted: 2:20 PM on 02.08.05 |
->> Clint,
You will need the PW cord that has the mini-phono plug on one end and the male household plug on the other. You can then plug it into an adatap anywhere on the line. Also, yes the ends of the synch cord can just lay dead, although I would possible wrap them with electrical tape just so there isn't the chance of exposed wire touching metal.
Here is a link to the cable I am referring to:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&...
-Brian |
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Clint Keller, Photographer
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Fort Wayne | In | USA | Posted: 3:11 PM on 02.08.05 |
| ->> Thanks Brian |
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Shawn Cullen, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 3:11 AM on 02.09.05 |
->> Clint,
Brian is right in regards to which cable to use for the Pocket Wizard and the fact that you can plug it in to the sync line where ever you want. Usually the best place to plug it in to sync line would be a spot with the least amount of interference. The house lights or speakers in the catwalk can block the line of sight and mass amounts of metal can also interfere, but what catwalk does not have mass amounts of metal! I would plug the Pocket Wizard in to the sync line where it runs above the basket at one end of the court. This way where ever you sit on the court you should be able to see it in the catwalk. If you mount it above the side lines of the court the house lights will probably block the line of sight because they usually stick out a good distance more off the catwalk than the Pocket Wizards can, and the angle is more diagonal not straight on.
Now, with regards to the ends of the sync cord laying dead. I would avoid this at all costs! They should only lie dead if you are using a light or pack that takes 1/4" or 1/8" plugs and the sync cord is not a permanent install. If the sync cord is a permanent install then use a female household plug, (not an add-a-tap), on the very ends of the sync cord. Home Depot sells the Leviton brand and I would suggest it. If you are using lights or packs that take a male plug, definitely do not have cord lying dead. Put the male plugs at the very beginning and end of the cord. This way if you have a four light set up, you will only need 2 jumpers (male to male cords) in a normal set up.
This is a link to some mounting bars for the Pocket Wizards so you can get them away from the metal railing and obstructions in the catwalk. You can easily make your own out of wood and make them longer to.
Low voltage adapters are usually used when you have a camera with a very low tolerance to voltage, such as the D30, D60, 10D, and the 20D. You also use these low voltage adapters if you are using very old Speedo's such as the 2401A and the 2401B. Most of the 2401B's have been low voltage modified. They should have a sticker on them stating this. All 2401SX have this built in.
Hope this helps. |
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Matt Strasen, Photographer
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Stillwater | OK | USA | Posted: 3:24 AM on 02.09.05 |
| ->> Thanks for all the help from everyone, especially Larry W. Smith, who was nice enough to come down early for a game and help me set everything up. Now that I the basics of how to hardwire everything, if anyone needs a 'hardwiring for dumbies' explanation, please feel free to email. I will be going back up to the rafters to clean up in the next few days, and would be happy to take pictures if that would help anyone. |
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Michael Stevens, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 1:38 PM on 02.09.05 |
->> OK, here's two relatively stupid questions.
1. I got some add-a-taps from this joint along with some quick-on male adapters. I figured out how to open the add-a-taps but can't figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do with the quick-on. I found a picture here http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/quicmaledplu.html that shows it unassembled but I can't seem to get the little bitch apart. Do I just need to squeeze the two prongs together harder and pull?
2. I got my stero plugs to fit into the PW & lights themselves. There are 3 prongs that I need to attach wires to. Which two attachements do I put the wires on? There are two shorter connectors and then a longer one so I'm assuming I attach the two wires to the shorter connections?
Thanks,
Mike |
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Matt Strasen, Photographer
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Stillwater | OK | USA | Posted: 1:54 PM on 02.09.05 |
->> Michael,
First, I think we pulled it apart using pliers, holding only one prong. Don't try to squeeze the two prongs together, you might brake em.
Second, if I remember correctly....yes, attach the two wires together to the smaller connections. |
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Brian Jackson, Photographer, Photo Editor
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South San Francisco | CA | USA | Posted: 2:19 PM on 02.09.05 |
| ->> Michael- Don't forget that once you get the prong part out to spread the prongs out in a V shape before you insert the wire, this exposes the metal spikes on the inside that pierce and make contact with the wire through the insulation. |
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Shawn Cullen, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 2:43 PM on 02.09.05 |
->> Michael,
Yes squeeze the two prongs together, you do not need much pressure to squeeze and pull. I do not use pliers or my bare hands. I will use my shirt or a rag to squeeze and pull the plug in and out. Pliers might cause burrs which could create some problems and the oil on your hands and fingers might cause rust. I know this is very anal, but then again you do not want lights to go down in the middle of a shoot and not be able find the problem.
Those Academy plugs look like the ones you want to use, but make sure both ends are the same width; otherwise it will not fit into the female add-a-tap! The ones you buy at Home Depot are not the ones you want to use. Roberts Dist. sells the right ones that you need, contact Jody at 800-726-5544 or I will be at the Phoenix Suns game on Fri. I can give you a bunch then.
Shawn |
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Matt Strasen, Photographer
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Stillwater | OK | USA | Posted: 3:21 PM on 02.09.05 |
| ->> Thanks for the clarification Shawn. Now I know too....no more pliers. |
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Michael Stevens, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 12:36 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> Thanks for the tips Matt, Brian, and Shawn. I'll giv'er a shot at putting it all together this weekend.
I won't be at the Suns game this Friday, Shawn. I know their team photog real well, Barry, and play poker with him all the time so I could probably get in but I'll leave the space for the paid photogs. Thanks for the offer, though. I've got the plugs with equal sized prongs so it's just a matter of putting it all together.
Later,
Mike |
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Michael Stevens, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 4:47 AM on 02.13.05 |
->> Thanks for the help guys. Got a soldering gun and slapped everything together today with very little problems: The stereo jacks had little holes in the pins that I assumed you were supposed to put the wire through and solder but the holes weren't large enough to fit 18 gauge wire through so I wound up just soldering them to them loose; And on one cord I would up reversing the polarity on the male plug and the stereo plug so once reversed everything is a go.
Now I've got a ton of different Paramount Cords I can get rid of.
Mike |
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